100 university students receive a "la Caixa" Foundation scholarship to study postgraduate courses abroad
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain presided over the award ceremony for the "la Caixa" Foundation's postgraduate scholarships abroad, granted to the 100 university students selected in the 2022 call for applications. This is the 41st edition of the Foundation's scholarship programme, which aims to promote the talent of the most outstanding students by extending their training at some of the best universities in the world.
The event, held at CaixaForum Madrid, was also attended by the First Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; the Minister for Universities, Joan Subirats; and the Vice-President of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Juan José López Burniol.
"The commitment to the excellent training of young people is one of the most emblematic and consolidated lines of action of the "la Caixa" Foundation. We are convinced that the advancement of knowledge is one of the most effective ways of fulfilling our mission: to build a fairer and more prosperous society, especially for those who need it most", remarked the Vice-President of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Juan José López Burniol.
Representing the group of "la Caixa" Foundation scholarship holders, Núria Oliva, professor of Biomedical Sciences and researcher in the Materials Engineering Group (GEMAT) at the Chemical Institute of Sarrià (Barcelona), addressed the audience: "12 years ago I was sitting in the same place as you, about to leave for the United States. That opportunity allowed me to develop my passion for breast cancer research, to work on the development of new treatments based on nanotechnology and biomaterials, and later to form my own research group. Now, 12 years later, I have been able to return home with all the accumulated knowledge and I do so once again with a grant from the "la Caixa" Foundation, in this case a Junior Leader grant to carry out a postdoctorate in my city. None of what I have achieved in my scientific career would have been possible without these grants and, therefore, as a former grant holder and as a new grant holder, I encourage you to enjoy and take advantage of this great opportunity".
Statistics on the new fellows
The 100 scholarships awarded are spread over four continents: 58 scholarships are for study in Europe, 40 scholarships for study in North America, one scholarship for study in Asia and one for study in Oceania.
The countries attracting the most scholarship recipients are the United States (35) and the United Kingdom (34).
The 100 scholarship holders of the class of 2022 come from 28 Spanish provinces, 4 Portuguese districts and 5 other countries. The provinces of origin with the most scholarship holders are Barcelona (26), Madrid (12), Coruña (4), Vizcaya (4) and Valencia (4).
The average age of the grantees is 25.9 years (at the time of receiving the grant).
Brilliant young people in multiple disciplines
In this edition of the "la Caixa" Foundation scholarships for postgraduate studies abroad, 978 eligible applications have been submitted to opt for one of the 100 scholarships of the programme, awarded on a competitive basis. The applications must pass a first phase of evaluation through the peer review system (peer evaluation carried out by people with similar skills) and those who receive the best marks are called for a personal interview. The selection phase involves university professors with international experience in this type of evaluation process.
Both the number of applications received and the rigour and high standards of the selection process ensure that successful candidates demonstrate outstanding levels of excellence. The effectiveness of this system is subsequently reflected in the success of "la Caixa" Foundation scholarship holders in gaining admission to the best universities in the world.
The universities that receive the most scholarship holders are: University of Oxford (7), University of Cambridge (6), ETH Zürich (6), Columbia University (5), Imperial College London (5), The London School of Economics and Political Science (5) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (4).
The most represented disciplines are engineering and technology (17), mathematics (10), law (7), business and economics (7) and health and medical sciences (6).
Four decades of commitment to the future of the new generations
The "la Caixa" Foundation's Postgraduate Scholarships Abroad programme is a point of reference among the university community. Several aspects make it particularly valuable:
- It is the programme that offers the largest number of grants for postgraduate studies abroad.
- The scholarships are open to all study disciplines.
- The programme covers the full cost of tuition fees and a monthly stipend. In addition, travel expenses and an orientation course before joining the respective universities are covered.
- The scholarship holders form part of the "la Caixa" Foundation Scholarship Holders Association, a cluster of excellence made up of almost 6,000 people with diverse backgrounds, professions, interests and talents who have become a benchmark in the academic and professional spheres.
Since the start of the Postgraduate Scholarships Abroad programme in 1982, until the 2022 call for applications, the "la Caixa" Foundation has allocated an accumulated investment of almost 200 million euros to the training of 3,784 students abroad.
The investment by the "la Caixa" Foundation in the 2022 call for applications was 10.7 million euros. The average cost of each of the grants awarded for postgraduate studies abroad is 90,000 euros.